Young people encouraged to book for heart screening event

The University of Gloucestershire is reminding local young people aged 14 to 35 that there are still limited places left to book a free heart screening on Tuesday, 31 March and Wednesday, 1 April.

The two-day screening event, which will be undertaken by Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), will take place at the university’s Oxstalls campus in Gloucester.

A combination of fundraising efforts by the university’s Stop the Heartbreak campaign, in partnership with Gloucestershire Media, including a family fun day organised by Events Management students in February and generous donations from local businesses and residents have enabled the campaign to reach the £7,000 target that will pay for 200 young people to receive cardiac screening.

Around half of the 200 spaces available for young people aged 14 to 35 have been booked, with more people across the county being encouraged to sign up by visiting www.testmyheart.org

Professor Diane Crone at the University of Gloucestershire, said: “The Stop the Heartbreak two-day heart screening at the university’s Oxstalls campus is rapidly approaching and I would urge as many young people aged between 14 and 35 to sign up as possible. Heart conditions can be hard to detect and don’t always present clear symptoms, so by booking yourself on for a free test on either the 31 March or 1 April is an opportunity not to be missed.”

It is necessary to pre-book a screening and the session takes about 45 minutes. For more information on the details of the actual screening procedures, please visit the CRY website.

A similar event will be held in the Forest of Dean on 27 October 2015 where a further 100 people living or studying in the county will have the opportunity to book onto a screening.

For further information about the Stop the Heartbreak campaign or to get involved please email stoptheheartbreak@glos.ac.uk, follow @stoptheheartbrk on Twitter or visit www.glos.ac.uk/stoptheheartbreak .

To donate please go to https://www.justgiving.com/stoptheheartbreak. Money raised will now go towards next year’s screening event.